Fire containment systems to control catastrophic and rapidly escalating fires occurring in/on an aircraft that is in flight, caused by the failure of batteries or cells either separately or when used in various portable/consumer PED's regularly carried by passengers or crew members, specifically such as those PED's made with Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer technologies are known. These units are also known to be portable, light-weight, easily accessible/deployable besides being made of both metals and/or specialized flame proof fabrics are also known. However, they allow the progress of the fire without in-suite approved or otherwise, medium for arrest/suppression on/in the containment unit till final, full and complete destruction of the all the Cells of the Battery along with the all the materials, flammable, toxic, noxious or otherwise, of the PED on fire.
Fire control systems which are easily accessible and deployable such as portable/light weight Agency/Industry Approved extinguishers containing Halon or its derivatives fixed in and around the aircraft in flight are known. However, when operated in their prescribed operating form they are known to be effective only on generic open fires but insufficient or ineffective to control or fully extinguish an open fire of a PED containing a failed Lithium Ion battery and further, these systems do not effectively prevent a relapse/re-occurrence of the characteristic thermal run-away phenomenon. The currently prescribed open discharge of these hand held fire extinguishers in confined populated spaces such as the aircraft in flight are also known to cause passenger/crew discomfort similar to irritation of the eyes and dizziness in addition to that of the smoke/fumes emanating from the PED on fire. Further, the open and discharge of these extinguishers in the populated confines such as a cabin of an aircraft in flight can exacerbate medical conditions like allergies, asthma, respiratory distress and heart disease.
Fire control systems that are agency/industry approved and permanently affixed in and around the various sections/areas and remotely/automatically operated in the event of an occurrence of an on board fire, are also known. However, these types are normally fixed safety assets of the aircraft in flight being controlled by the management systems of the aircraft and are normally restricted to confined or unpopulated areas such as on-board cargo bays or flight management systems and thus cannot be disengaged and localized with in time of the lifetime of the fire and thus not usable. These types cannot be cost effectively or logically be installed in and around the required populated areas in and around the aircraft where a PED Fire is likely to occur without major and complex changes to the aircraft systems/logistics.
Fire control systems that are agency/industry approved which are autonomous with automatic release/dispersion capabilities and also being cost effective for large deployments in and around the passenger/crew areas of the aircraft in flight where a PED fire may occur are also known. However, these cannot be discharged and localized on the PED fire. Further, these systems have the same unpleasant attributes/effects similar to that of the already existing manually operated fire extinguishers when discharged in confined populated spaces.
Fire containment systems that are agency/industry approved, light weight, portable, easily deployable, cost effective made of metals with or without corrosion resistant, high temperature liners and/or flame proof high temperature fabrics with corrosion resistant capabilities besides allowing for addition of external coolants and the egress and containment of smoke/fumes of the PED on fire in an aircraft that is in flight are also known. However, they are designed to allow the progress of the fire without in-suite approved or otherwise, assets for arrest/suppression on/in the containment unit till final, full and complete destruction of all of the cells of the battery along with all of the materials, flammable, toxic, noxious or otherwise, of the PED on fire besides not allowing for the ability of later possible partial or retrieval of the PED or its components to enable future fault analysis/product safety improvement and/or any valuable data extraction from the PED simultaneously enabling safe containment, extinguishing & carriage besides in-flight safety of passenger/crew during transit of the aircraft and completion of flight and landing thereafter.